Caperdonich distillery closed in 2002 so it’s certainly of interest to whisky collectors. Independent bottlings such as this one by Gordon & MacPhail aren’t all that common but the distillery’s demise is recent enough to keep the prices sensible. But for how long it’s hard to say. It was only a few years ago you could buy bottles of Littlemill for under £40 but they’re all over £100 now.

Caperdonich (which means ‘secret well’) opened in 1897 only to close 5 years later in 1902 after the demise of the Victorian whisky boom. It remained silent for over 60 years before opening again in 1965. It closed in 2002 along with the Braeval and Allt a Bhainne distilleries, which have both since reopened. Unfortunately that won’t happen to Caperdonich as the distillery buildings were demolished in 2010.

As Jo says in his ‘Whisky Wednesday’ review below, this Caperdonich 1998 has a classic Speyside smell. The house style for the distillery was tropical fruits, vanilla, sweet, spiced and light in body. 87.25/100 on Whiskybase is a high mark with voters’ comments of “smooth and well balanced” and “this is great fun. It lacks a little weight and is not flawless, but I could drink it all night.”

The second of my three 20cl bottles from the Whisky Broker and I was pleased to find that someone has already reviewed it on the Malt Maniacs website. The reviewer doesn’t leave any tasting notes but 85/100 is a good score, especially from a reguluar reviewer such as this. The write-up about this Caperdonich from the Whisky Broker website is:

This speyside whisky, distilled on 13th June 1995 at Caperdonich Distillery, has been matured in an oak hogshead for over 17 years. The whisky has not been chill filtered, nor has any colouring been added. Caperdonich Distillery has been closed since 2002.

This whisky has been lightly filtered to remove large particles of wood sediment from the cask, but may still contain small traces, which are visible only when bottle is left standing for a period of time. Details: